I hear a lot about mindfulness these days. It seems to be the buzz-word of choice, especially around minimalism and Zen forums, but it’s still just a repackaging of ‘living in the moment’ or ‘being present,’ both of which hark back to ancient Eastern philosophies. The idea is that by focussing on our immediate environment and situation, we can slow down from the frantic rush of our lives and appreciate what we have. It’s all very well and idealistic, but the fact remains that we are creatures of time, and we have to plan for the future, as much as we try to learn from rehashing the past. It enriches our experience to have the contrast of memories, hopes, dreams and reality.
If I was truly ‘mindful’ I wouldn’t dream about the future, wouldn’t make grand plans and schemes to achieve. If we didn’t look at the past, how would we ever learn who we are, or how to deal with situations that are new to us, but not to our parents, our ancestors. In the cup of the hand, there may only be the present, which is trite enough without remembering that hands don’t make very good cups: they tend to leak, and as the water spills, we’re not holding it anymore, only its memory.
So I’ll continue, regardless of the zeitgeist pop-philosophers, to live my life in all three tenses, and live it all the more fully for that.
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